The latest Swicthed On at Engadget will certainly speak to the heart of our readers since it is focused on the media center potential of the Mac Mini. Ross Rubin hits the nail on the head noting that :

The media center concept would benefit from a platform with high reliability, strong integration, an inventive developer community, software design acumen, and a retail channel that could effectively explain its benefits to a high-income customer base.

There has never been a better time to consider a Mac Media Center and I am betting it will come in the form of a second add-on box from Apple. It will either be jointly developed (doubtful) with Elgato, or possibly utilize their technology which is certainly proven in network connectivity, streaming DVR. If not I think Elgato has the motivation now with the release of Mac Mini to do it themselves since their hardware already fits nicely in size next to the Mini.

We’ll most likely have to wait to hear from Apple for when Tiger is released and the slick new H.264 video codec will enable streaming through devices of all capabilities — let alone the HD set you’ll have in your living room.

We know the Mac Mini is short on some features…but these are easily overcome and can enable a relatively low-cost configuration, very powerful and simple solution that will easily pass the Wife Approval test as well.

– Jonathan Greene

Have you ordered yours yet?

Feel free to join us and discuss the Mac Mini as a home theater appliance. Layouts and graphics are still being tweaked, but being the impatient sob I am, I couldn’t wait anymore. We hope this forum will satisfy the needs and interests of Mac HTPC enthusiast’s. Your feedback, suggestions and participation are welcome.

Enter Mac HTPC Forums

B.Greenway

If you watch this video (708kb .mp4) courtesy of smashworld, you’ll see how “easy” it can be to open the Mac Mini. While it does not void your warranty, Apple does recommend that an Apple Authorized Service Professional perform any upgrades for you rather than let you try this at home. With the right tools (a putty knife) and a some patience, it certainly seems though that you can save quite a bit on that RAM upgrade you were planning. 1GB of RAM is less than $200 at the moment, not quite the $495 Apple is stating on the Mac Mini configuration page. Thanks Lok!

– Jonathan Greene

Purchase your Mac Mini from Amazon today!

The Mac Mini’s apparent lack of a digital audio out, was one of the first shortcomings I noticed. Since those days, after the Mini’s announcement I’ve read about the M-Audio Transit (apparently will pass digital, but not all multi-channel digital) the M-Audio Sonica (highly recommended, pass’s multi channel audio) and I recently even ran across the XITEL Pro HiFi-Link (which would appear to fall between the M-Audio’s in features). It would seem as if the ‘Transit’ is the preferable way of getting a digital audio stream out of the Mac Mini, but what do current transit owners have to say about the device? The Accelerate Your Mac board has a whole page dedicated to ‘Transit problems’ but that sounds worse than it is, the majority of these problems seem to center around hot swapping devices and apps such as Garage Band.

Balancing the ‘good’ with the bad, I learned that M-Audio actually provides software updates for the transit from time to time. It never really occurred to me that a USB adaptor could benefit from updates, but hey why not. I’d really like to hear from you, if you’ve discovered another potential USB2.0 solution for digital audio out, from the Mini. Choice is always good.

B.Greenway

Macworld provides some good background reading on the Mac Mini to scratch your itch until it’s finally installed in your theater. It’s just a preview, but good info for those of us not fortunate enough to have seen one in person at the MacWorld Expo.

You can always purchase your Mac Mini from Amazon today!

– Jonathan Greene

Thanks to a tip at eHomeupgrade, we learn that SageTV has launched a Linux version of their media center application. Of course this future Mac Mini HTPC owner immediately thought this would make a great port from Linux to be a Mac Mini HTPC media center application. X11 can be easily installed…

LAS VEGAS (2005 International CES, January 6, 2005) — Frey Technologies, LLC, today announced the expansion of its SageTV Media Center software to the Linux operating system, providing a robust and cost-effective platform for OEMs building media center products. The new Version 3.0 also offers a media adapter that broadens the software’s reach from PCs to TVs, making SageTV’s powerful digital video recorder functionality as well as music and photo sharing capabilities available on any TV in the house via a 10-foot user interface for use from the couch.

With nearly three years in the Windows market, SageTV Media Center is the most mature and versatile system of its kind. It includes an easy-to-use integrated program guide plus the ability to pause and rewind live TV, record a whole season of shows, search for favorite shows by name, actor or subject, and record multiple shows at the same time with multiple tuner support. It also offers parental control features, built-in networking permitting live and/or recorded TV and music to stream to any PC on the home network, and intelligent recording of shows of interest based on household viewing habits. If a user watches reality and police shows, for example, SageTV will automatically record new shows in those categories without user intervention.

More here :

• Official SageTV announcement
• Forum at Frey Technologies on the topic

– Jonathan Greene

Purchase your Mac Mini from Amazon today!

In reference to our post yesterday on Component Video connections, we received a note from Fred at the EFF alerting us to a great new product from LaCie, The Silverscreen. The Silverscreen is a connected multimedia hard drive, and includes an array of features and connections to use directly with a TV. From their site:

LaCie silverscreen is a USB hard drive that also plugs into TVs, VCRs, cable boxes or satellite tuners with an AV cable for instant playback of stored movies, music or photos. Plug and play on your PC or Mac through Hi-Speed USB to store data and then view your media on almost any TV or monitor. Compatible with HDTV quality video and Dolby® Digital or DTS quality audio, there’s no compromise on quality with home theaters. Share home-movies and photos with friends and family, or use it for exhibitions, promotions, and delivering rough cuts to clients. The LaCie silverscreen’s user-friendly interface and remote control provide for an easy set-up. The VOD (Video On-Demand) feature allows you to go online to rent or buy DivX® VOD movies from the DivX® website. Build your own virtual library of up to 80 MPEG4 DviX movies, 15 MPEG-2 DVD movies* or up to 80,000 photos* or nearly 20,000 MP3s* music and carry them with you anywhere.

This certainly seems like a great addition to the Mac Mini HT and can even be used as a stand-alone device connected directly to your TV. Currently the Silverscreen is available in 40GB now and will be available in 80GB in February. Prices are $249 or $329 respectively.

I currently use two LaCie Firewire drives in my home system and have been very pleased with their performance over time. My only issue was that they prefer to be connected via Firewire Bridge rather than chained through one another, or you might lose the connection with the one further out. The SilverScreen is a USB2 device so that obviously won’t be an issue. I’ll be looking forward to checking this one out when it’s released!

– Jonathan Greene

I guess it should come as a surprise to absolutely no one, that Mac’s have been serving up dual duty as personal computers as well as entertainment appliances, for some time now. One user of just such a setup host’s some very informative pages on the subject. The original page My HTPC page lays out her requirements and goals for a ‘MacHT’ while a second more extensive page serves as an HTMac FAQ.

The second page in particular is geared toward one of my main goals with the Mac Mini, DVD playback through a ‘TV’. Have a look they just might be able to answer some of your questions about ‘Mac’n’ your home theater. Sorry couldn’t resist the pun.

While we’re on the subject of Mac’s as entertainment centers, macteens ran an article back in August on how to record high definition programming from the popular Motorola DCT-6200 HDTV cable box. It’s a seriously in-depth article and should provide just the info needed, for recording hi-def video from the Motorola box to your Mac.

B.Greenway

While reading a post over at studio2f.com I caught this:

Here’s what I think is coming…

In the days leading up to MacWorld Apple was aggressively trying to plug a leak of a secret project that was rumored to be announced at the Keynote. Court documents filed in the trade secret suits by Apple referred to the hardware product by code name “Asteroid.” It’s was well believed in the rumor world that Asteriod was an audio break-out box for GarageBand users to connect their home instruments. Asteriod wasn’t released— or announced— but the lawsuits remain. This product is still coming. It’s still a secret Apple want’s to keep under wraps.

Asteriod is going to be far more than a break-out box. Asteriod will be the missing link to provide a Digital Livingroom Macintosh. Asteroid will be a Firewire based media bridge. An external box that inputs and outputs video (HD) and digital audio. Asteriod will provide PVR features much like the Elgato capture peripheral. It will ship with an iApp that allows time shifting of video, slideshows and music on your TV (a la TiVo Home Media Option) and home theatre integration. Sharing of video captures (television shows) via rendezvous (like iPhoto) using Quicktime’s killer new compression codecs- and locked down with Tivo-To-Go type DRM. Being sold as an external add on, Mac users will be able to utilize their existing hardware, even if they don’t own a Mini.

Next logical step— iTunes store selling DVD downloads. Tivo has partnered with NetFlix to provide DVD downloads to your TiVo, there’s no reason why Apple can’t do it with their negotiating power over the entertainment industry. The iTunes Music Store now plays movie previews and is heavily integrated with Quicktime. Apple needs to keep in the forefront. It won’t be long before TiVo type convergence devices (Comcast DVR, Moxie, etc..) are also providing the purchasing of online music and saving it to a local share.

This is all speculation for now, but just consider the possibilities of this type of device and then add in the recent removal of iFlicks by Helixent Technologies.

Helixent Technologies is sorry to report that iFlicks is no longer available, at least for the time being. Due to a situation that has arisen, we have made the decision to halt further distribution of iFlicks.

…

Unfortunately, at this time, we cannot provide further details as to why we have made the decision to halt distribution of iFlicks. As soon as we are aware of further details which we can make public, we will post the information to this page. If you are concerned or otherwise interested, just periodically check back to the iFlicks web site. [Helixent.com]

iFlicks supports all the key video types for an Apple based on-demand / download service

…QuickTime (.mov), MPEG-1, and MPEG-4. If you have additional QuickTime components installed, iFlicks also supports AVI and MPEG-2 formats.

Helixent can’t say why it’s gone but many a bird are whispering of another SoundJam into iTunes maneuver by Apple. This would certainly fill the iApp box when connected with a box to capture and record from a variety of sources. iFlicks had Netflix integration as well which may also add the addition of a download service in the same manner as Tivo plans.

– Jonathan Greene

Hey – it’s a worth a few minutes of our collective time for the chance at a free device. Freeminimacs.com is from the same people who ran the free iPod promotion. You do have to agree to one offer, but they are all free – minus of course a touch of your marketing info.

Go ahead let’s help each other out… freeminimacs.com